Early (snow)birds snap up great deals on Whistler ski vacation packages

Winter’s around the corner and if you’re thinking of a ski and snowboard vacation, Whistler is providing plenty of reasons to make your plans sooner rather than later.

Book Early and Save packages offer the best value of the 2008/09 winter season which, if it’s anything like the past two extremely snowy seasons, will be marked with major snowfall totals and excellent skiing and snowboarding at Whistler, one of the world’s top mountain resorts and the official Host Mountain Resort for the 2010 Winter Games.

Booking early means great value. You save up to 35 per cent on accommodations and lift tickets, plus kids 12 and under ski and rent free if you book before November 15. Five-night lodging and four-day lift packages start from $448 per person and seven-night lodging and six-day lift packages start from $640 per person. And you can choose the hotel you want in Whistler Village, with its great restaurants, unique shops and boutiques, and activities for the whole family.

Call 1.800.WHISTLER (1.800.944.7853) or visit whistler.com to find out more about Book Early and Save packages. Reservation agents at whistler.com can also customize a vacation package for you, taking care of your flights, transportation, accommodation, activities and lift tickets.

New at Whistler Blackcomb this year is the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola. Opening on December 12, it will move skiers and snowboarders between Whistler Blackcomb’s two peaks in just ! 11 minutes. The longest unsupported lift span in the world, the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola lets you access the best snow and weather easily, and changes the on-mountain experience at Whistler Blackcomb for skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels. Whistler Blackcomb’s vast and incredible variety of terrain has never been easier to enjoy.

Whistler Blackcomb is the site of the alpine events in the 2010 Winter Games. You can ski the same runs that the world’s top skiers will cover during the Games. Earn bragging rights by snapping photos as you descend the men’s and women’s alpine courses, all with official signs marking the runs to prove you skied where the Olympians will ski. This winter you can tour the Whistler Sliding Centre, site of luge, bobsleigh and skeleton medal events in February 2010. You can also tour Whistler Olympic Park, site of ski jumping, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing and biathlon medal events in February 2010.

Visit www.whistler.com or call 1.800.WHISTLER (1.800.944.7853).

Whistler is a year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is site of the alpine, Nordic, and sliding events for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Whistler has a range of accommodations totalling 3,200 hotel rooms, and more than 5,000 other tourist accommodation units including condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler offers a wide selection of restaurants, bars, spas, boutiques, and activities from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. Whistler Blackcomb mountains feature 3,036 hectares (8,171 acres) of terrain and receive an average of 10 metres (33 feet) of snow annually. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the TELUS Whistler Conference Centre, the Whistler Golf Club, the Whistler Visitor Centres and tourismwhistler.com, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com - Whistler’s official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Source: Whistler Tourism (www.tourismwhistler.com)